Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

Senator Hannigan is correct that young people are more tuned into politics, despite what some people claim. The points made by the Senator in this regard are relevant.

It is agreed changes in the electoral boundaries were needed to secure equality in representation. There are many articles and comments claiming there are too many Deputies and Senators. Senator Buttimer is correct that it should be established if there are too many, or not enough, to put the matter to bed once and for ever. It is interesting that when the State was founded, the ratio for representation was 16,000 people per Member while today it is 25,000 people.

Senator O'Toole referred to direct elections for mayors such as those held in France. I recall asking the mayor of Montpellier about his terrific light rail project for the city and if he had any opposition to it. He informed me he did not have opposition because as a directly elected mayor he had no problem in bringing the people with him on the project. Directly elected mayoralties is a terrific system. The mayors have their own funding with no layers of bureaucracy, allowing them to do their job quickly. It is an efficient way of doing business. Doing public service business in Ireland has become too cumbersome for everyone because there are too many layers blocking the system. This must be reduced to make it easier and will, in turn, ensure better value for money.

It has been established, as the Minister stated, that the Constituency Commission's terms of reference were not adhered to. From my days in the trade union movement, if terms of reference were not adhered to when making a decision, the decision was declared null and void and we had to go back to the drawing board. In this instance, the opposite happened. Those who challenged the findings were told they had to go to court. In a democracy that type of answer is not acceptable. With all of this, people were deprived of the representation to which they are entitled. As in Senator Ellis's area, if one got 75% of the electoral quota, one could still not get elected. Is that democracy? Is that fair? It is about fairness for those in the political arena and the people, giving them the service to which they are entitled.

Another issue is spending on local elections. There is not an even playing pitch in this area. If I were up against a millionaire in a local election, I would not stand a chance. He would have the spending resources to beat the band, give people holidays and take out advertisements everywhere. What are the plans for spending limits in local elections? In the last local elections, one candidate spent €60,000 on his campaign. What chance has, say an unemployed person, running in an election against such a candidate?

When I spoke to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government privately, he indicated he intended to ban election postering. I would like to know what proposals have been made in that regard. I do not personally have a problem with the issue but a person beginning his or her career might find it a challenge. Many members of the public do not agree with election posters from an environmental perspective and we could save a lot of money given that they cost €8 each. I am not completely opposed to that perspective.

I have nothing against anybody sitting on the commission but we should examine its composition and the views and range of experience of its members because, as Senator Ellis noted, a vested interest must have arisen somewhere along the line if the terms of reference were not adhered to. Its response to queries was to give the two fingers and to say that the courts should be used if people wanted to do business with it.

I think we are at one on this issue and several Opposition speakers have made valuable contributions to the debate. It is important that we respect each other and reach agreement.